Daily News Update with Rich Jones of WOKV : 7/17/2012

[Tamara-B]

Sun to start and maybe some storms by lunchtime. If you see the rain it could be heavy at times. Isolated strong storms later this afternoon but severe weather is not expected. The scattered storms could be with us again tomorrow and Thursday, then we turn warmer for the weekend.

Today's interview lineup:

At 6:53 hear Jamie Dupree explain why the Fed Chief's testimony this week could change the talking points on the campaign trail. http://www.wokv.com/Player/101453691/

At 7:23 hear reporter Matt Augustine on why there is more talk of pension reform but few real answers being offered. http://www.wokv.com/Player/101453721/

At 8:23 Jamie Dupree pulls back the curtain on campaign coverage and why some reporters are agreeing to sanctioned comments. http://www.wokv.com/Player/101453831/

Our Top Local Story: The office in charge of watching how your tax dollars are spent is calling for help. Ethics Office Director Carla Miller tells WOKV she's not confident in the oversight right now. The Mayor's budget proposal cuts the office a little more than $20,000, the latest in a series of cuts for the oversight office. Remember the Inspector General's Office was dissolved before the prior fiscal year.

The talk of pension reform is still just talk. The Mayor says he is going to have a plan for reform by the end of the year, which would then lead to months of debate for the next budget cycle. Council President Bill Bishop says he thinks they have a better level of commitment than ever before. The city is set to contribute $150 million to pensions this year, a $45 million increase from last year.

The insurer of last resort in Florida says it needs to more than triple rates for sinkhole coverage next year in some areas. Citizens Property Insurance says it needs to increase homeowner's policies by more than 15% but is only asking for a seven and a half percent increase. Governor Scott wants to downsize Citizens, saying the company's rates are artificially low.

$2.5 million--The pricetag to secure Governor Scott and other politicians visiting Florida. It's the highest such amount in the seven years the state has been tracking security expenses. The state paid to provide security for visits by First Lady Michelle Obama and for Attorney General Pam Bondi when she attended oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court.

A Walmart Supercenter in Northwest Jacksonville is overrun by a flash mob. Police say over 300 people stormed the store and destroyed merchandise and the store's security system. No arrests have been made so far.

The Obama campaign has given us more information about the President's campaign visit to Jacksonville this week. We've learned he'll be at the Prime Osborn Center on Thursday at 11am. It's free and open to the public, but you'll have to get tickets to get in.

Rush Limbaugh has a new conclusion on the President's philosophy of America. After Obama said "if you've been successful you didn't get there on your own", Rush said it's clear Obama "hates this country". He goes on to say the President's philosophy appeals to people with miserable, meaningless lives and people who don’t count.

The National Urban League says President Obama could have a tough time winning in at least three battleground states if not enough African American voters turn out at the polls in November. The civil rights group says black turnout at about 60% or below could cost him North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia.

Franchised kicker Josh Scobee just signed off on a four-year deal to remain a Jaguar. The deal is reportedly worth more than $3.4 million dollars annually.

Our Top National Story: The impact of budget cuts on America's economy. A study done for the Aerospace Industries Association is showing the automatic spending cuts could cost the economy two million jobs, mainly in defense contracting, border security and education.

No compromise on tax cuts, the message from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Democrats want to extend the cuts to Americans making less than $250,000 a year, while Republicans want an extension for everyone.

Yahoo is turning to Google to shake things up. It just hired longtime web search executive Marissa Mayer as its new CEO. Mayer is credited with designing Google's search homepage.  She resigned from Google yesterday--and starts at Yahoo this morning.

A major bridge that links Detroit to Windsor, Ontario, is shut down for several hours following a bomb threat. No devices were found. Police say a caller warned that a bomb would go off in 10 minutes on the Ambassador Bridge. Four days earlier, a similar threat shut down a commuter tunnel linking the cities.

The man behind the "Encyclopedia Brown" series of children's mysteries has died. Author Donald J. Sobol was 87. His stories were first published in the early '60's and became staples in classrooms and libraries nationwide. Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the Encyclopedia Brown series.

http://www.wokv.com/videos/online/advertising/morning-news-video-blog/ldQ/

[Tamara-B]

People who don't count??

That's pretty evil

[TheCat]

Employee 20 at Google. She was the highest female executive at the company. She's starting at Yahoo today. Resigned from Google yesterday. Yes, she is pregnant. She is officially in my "let's do lunch one day, whatta ya say?" list.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marissa_Mayer

[Tamara-B]

Going from google to yahoo? Lol, isn't that like going from working for Coca Cola to working for PepsiCo?